Antique appraisals will raise money for Bluffton schools' books

A phalanx of experts will spend Sunday afternoon examining family heirlooms to raise money for new books.

The Sisterhood of Temple Oseh Shalom will host an Antique Road Show from 1-4 p.m. Sunday in the Fellowship Hall of the Lowcountry Presbyterian Church. The proceeds will go toward the group’s purchase of dozens of books for Bluffton students.

“We have done this for four years now,” said Barbara Winters, event planner. “We buy books and last year we bought books for the second-graders to take home for the summer. They get to keep the books. As far as I am concerned I love giving back to the community, especially if it helps kids because they’re our future.”

Among the appraisers will be Kelly Dykes of Lewellyn Dykes Appraisers, Mark Thibodeau of Damn Yankees Auction House, Teddy McCracken of Stock Farm Antiques and Peter Allyn of Bluffton Antiques.

A former Baltimore detective, Dykes said there is a lot of forensics used when examining and appraising antiques. He expects to see a wide variety of items.

“We will see jewelry, china, crystal, silver and a lot of art work. We’ll be looking at both prints and original canvases and watercolors,” he said. “I also expect to see art pottery and art glass, which is different than crystal. Some of the guys will bring us antique tools. People may bring in some small furniture. We have experts who are knowledgeable on everything I have mentioned.”

Dykes said he has been able to help people realize small fortunes when examining some of their items.

“We’ve definitely found some paintings that were in the $10,000-$25,000 range. We’ve occasionally come across a great hand-painted chevres vase from France worth about $4,500, a nice piece of sculpture was around $4,500 and then a whole bunch of things that are in that $800-$2,500 range — those are not uncommon at all,” Dykes said. “Old artwork, especially if they have the modern art and don’t know anything about it. It’s very easy for people to inherit art work and not know what it is.”

A sense of value

Stock Farm Antiques in Bluffton will be represented by Teddy McCracken, said husband Emmett.

“She does most of the appraising outside of the shop. Often people will bring pieces by here to get a sense of what the value is. When we take things on consignment we have some element of appraising in that,” he said. “Quite often people have a sense, particularly with the Internet now, and Antiques Road Show can steer you correctly or seriously incorrectly, but people have a fairly good educated sense of what they have. They’re usually just seeking some confirmation or reaffirmation.”

Mark Thibodeau of Damn Yankees Auction House in Hardeeville said he will be assisting in the road show, pre-sorting and pre-scanning what comes in to direct the owners to the proper expert.

“It’s going to be a great day, we’re expecting a lot of people,” he said. “I’ll be telling about how things are selling at auction. It’s a wonderful way to sell and can sometimes set a fabulous price depending on the item. What’s sort of helped drive that antique road show feeling is what people are seeing on TV.”

Not every appraisal thrills the owner.

“We really get a full range of emotional responses. My job is to try to set peoples’ expectations. Certain things are always going to do well, other things are quite iffy,” Thibodeau said. “What’s selling the best now are decorative art, glass, porcelain, bronzes, objet d’art. Quality, condition and rarity are really important factors when you’re talking about auction. Sometimes it is difficult. We deal with things that are important to people and that often represent a loved one. It’s an interesting job. We’ve solved a lot of problems for people.”

No matter what the outcome of the appraisals, the happiest people will be the Bluffton students who will receive an influx of new library books.

“It is my absolute delight to help raise money for such a worthy cause. I bring in all the experts and we do this at no charge at all to the charity. Every penny we raise goes towards the charity,” said Dykes.

Description: The Sisterhood of Temple Oseh Shalom will host an Antique Road Show. The public is invited. Bring old jewelry, silver, paintings, china, etc., to be appraised. Details: Admission is $10 which includes the appraisal of three items and three lectures. Those wishing to attend just the lectures may do so for $3 per person. For more information, call 705-9266.

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